Selling resale to buy direct 100 points

[KnightFamily]

Hey all,
We currently own 100pts Dec use year at AKL. We haven’t used 2020 points yet. We are white card members that can trade into Riv (bought in 2017). I’ve noticed that AKL is selling well (and much higher than we bought at $78pt). We are Canadian so would have to deal with FRPA tax with holding.
Would it be worth selling our contract, and turning around and buying direct the exact contract again? This would make us blue card members. We only go every other year, so the Ap discount doesn’t much matter. It’s the idea of “future things to come”. Literally every trip we’ve gone on a moonlight magic event was happening (we travel in May) and clearly can’t go. Are we nuts to do so? I know the 100pt direct cut off would happen before our sale went through. So we’d have to float the money over a period of time. How complicated would this process be and would it work?

 

[becauseimnew]

Hey all,
We currently own 100pts Dec use year at AKL. We haven’t used 2020 points yet. We are white card members that can trade into Riv (bought in 2017). I’ve noticed that AKL is selling well (and much higher than we bought at $78pt). We are Canadian so would have to deal with FRPA tax with holding.
Would it be worth selling our contract, and turning around and buying direct the exact contract again? This would make us blue card members. We only go every other year, so the Ap discount doesn’t much matter. It’s the idea of “future things to come”. Literally every trip we’ve gone on a moonlight magic event was happening (we travel in May) and clearly can’t go. Are we nuts to do so? I know the 100pt direct cut off would happen before our sale went through. So we’d have to float the money over a period of time. How complicated would this process be and would it work?

Wow! you got a great deal on that resale, the buying is easy and you would even get the 2019 points, the selling will take a few months to get the money - also don't forget that you could have to pay a commission. But if that's what you want why not?

 

[Ruttangel]

Hey all,
We currently own 100pts Dec use year at AKL. We haven’t used 2020 points yet. We are white card members that can trade into Riv (bought in 2017). I’ve noticed that AKL is selling well (and much higher than we bought at $78pt). We are Canadian so would have to deal with FRPA tax with holding.
Would it be worth selling our contract, and turning around and buying direct the exact contract again? This would make us blue card members. We only go every other year, so the Ap discount doesn’t much matter. It’s the idea of “future things to come”. Literally every trip we’ve gone on a moonlight magic event was happening (we travel in May) and clearly can’t go. Are we nuts to do so? I know the 100pt direct cut off would happen before our sale went through. So we’d have to float the money over a period of time. How complicated would this process be and would it work?

Right now I can’t see why you would do this? You can stay at RIV and future resorts and you don’t need AP.....sounds like you have the best of both worlds already.
i can’t see the blue card perks stacking up for you and changes to perks would have to be enormous to swing it in your direction
its also going to cost you a lot to switch these contracts for minimal benefit.

 

[Minniemoo15]

I’m Canadian too... the perks don’t mean much to us as we only go once a year. We did miss out on moonlight magic this past trip, but instead we bought After Hours tickets and had a blast. Who knows if/when moonlight magic will return in this crazy climate. For us resale was a no brainer.... we saved tens of thousands of dollars and have no regrets!

 

[poofyo101]

I would keep what you have.

 

[sethschroeder]

There is zero reason to sell your AKV to buy direct if you are not using the AP discount. You have access to future resorts and as brought up before Disney always goes and grandfathers in the previous purchasers.

Any new discounts they might roll out is either going to be minimal or relate again to going much more often to get value out of it with some form of ticket offer.

Would you pay $10k for the chance at going to 5 or 6 Moonlight events over the next 40 years?

 

[LTJoeFlo]

We live in Texas, and that is kind of like living in another country. As a blue card member, we rarely use the perks. If you have the available funds to make the switch, and you plan on going for many years to come, then why not? Financially, it makes no sense. Intrinsically, it might.

If you do decide to make the purchase, try to take advantage of the situation. Disney allows you to purchase with a credit card. Go get one with a nice bonus. We did this last year and we were able to earn enough points to purchase 3 economy round-trip tickets to Europe (or 1 business class). If the difference is $10k, this kind of helps...

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

This would make us blue card members. We only go every other year, so the Ap discount doesn’t much matter. It’s the idea of “future things to come”.

It’s totally up to you, but I don’t think it would be worth it. What are the “future things” you’re thinking of?

As far as future resorts, your 2017 resale contract will get you into all of them. (Ahhh... those were the days!!) Yes, a blue card would get you into MM events, which are a neat perk, but it’s much “cheaper” to pay for an after-hours event. And from what I’ve seen/heard, those are even less crowded than the MM events anyway! So, I’d keep the thousands saved and pay a few hundred for the events.

 

[Sandisw]

I did do this last year but it was to add my adult kids so they were now blue card and could take advantage of the AP..plus they liked RIV and compared to BWV, have a contract with 28 more years of use.

Having said that, if AP isn’t something you need and RIV is not a place you want to stay, I don’t think I would.

 

[prouddaddycdn]

Let me put it to you this way - at least you can contemplate what you are doing now with your AKV contract since it doesn't have any resale restrictions attached to it. You won't necessarily be able to say the same when if or when you switch over to a RIV contract. Those resale restrictions are a deal breaker for me personally since I like flexibility in what I own etc.

As for moonlight magic events, my family has attended a couple and while nice, I would not say that they are worth the price premium of buying direct.

Be sure to compare point charts, maintenance fees etc. prior to pulling the trigger. If RIV still speaks to your heart, go forth and enjoy the new purchase!

 

[zavandor]

Hey all,
We currently own 100pts Dec use year at AKL. We haven’t used 2020 points yet. We are white card members that can trade into Riv (bought in 2017). I’ve noticed that AKL is selling well (and much higher than we bought at $78pt). We are Canadian so would have to deal with FRPA tax with holding.
Would it be worth selling our contract, and turning around and buying direct the exact contract again? This would make us blue card members. We only go every other year, so the Ap discount doesn’t much matter. It’s the idea of “future things to come”. Literally every trip we’ve gone on a moonlight magic event was happening (we travel in May) and clearly can’t go. Are we nuts to do so? I know the 100pt direct cut off would happen before our sale went through. So we’d have to float the money over a period of time. How complicated would this process be and would it work?

I've been to one MM event and it was nice but not something I would pay much to attend.
They are very similar to afterhours events. Those cost around $120 per person (if I remember correctly) and are scheduled regularly throughout the year so not difficult to attend if you want to. How many ticketed events can you attend with the money you'd have to spend to switch points?
Regarding possible future perks? Who knows if DVC will ever have a perk for blu card members that will interest you.

 

[DVCsloth]

I would hold on to the current contract and consider adding on at another resort if you wanted to get a Blue Card. You could always do small contracts until you have enough points for it. Disney is offering incentives currently and will probably do so for a while. You current AKV is a good contract to hold on to in my opinion.

 

[limace]

I think you’re basically considering spending 5-8K to get merch discounts and maybe a moonlight madness. It would absolutely not be worth it to me.

 

[BestAunt]

would you consider buying back into AKL? i think current members can get $8 off per point (look at the current incentives thread to see what that comes out to per point, and i think the discount i'm remembering is for 150+ points). that should put you close to the riviera price point. it will get you close to price point you would be paying for RIV plus you won't have to worry about resale restrictions if you choose to sell again. a loss of 13 years (?) i think compared to RIV contract length.
But i hear ya. i live in florida so would not benefit from the AP discount when/if it comes back. I just want to be part of the blue card family, drink my free sodas in the DVC lounge and get my mickey ears discount.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I wouldn't do this. It's a lot of work and cost for not a lot of benefit for your current travel patterns.

You could maybe consider switching from every other year to a 2 on/1 off or 2 on/2 off schedule. By doing that, you could take two trips on one annual pass.For example, if you went the first week in August one year and then the last week in July the following year, you'd get two trips within 12 months, so two trips on one AP. You'd have to be really careful with banking and borrowing, especially if you did a 2 on/2 off schedule.

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

Vote for No here. There's no guarantee moonlight magic is coming back and the AP discount does nothing for you since you travel every other year. It's going to be very costly to get a blue card that may do nothing for you.

 

[FinnFogg]

I don’t think it’s worth it. We are also Canadian, and blue card holders. It’s nice to flash the blue card every now and then, and we’ve even used it for APs a WDW (notwithstanding that we live in Vancouver), but even if you maxed all the perks (which I frankly think will continue to diminish) I don’t think the numbers add up.

 

[RoseGold]

You want to spend $5k plus the commission to sell your AKL for Moonlight Magic???

I mean it seems cool, but just like all the other hard ticket events.

before covid, MK was stacking up hard ticket events: villain parties, Xmas, Halloween. I thought the valentine one looked awesome! Just spend $100 and do one of those.

 

[Cyberc1978]

If you aren't able to use the AP discount which is the only perk worth anything substantial I wouldn't do it.

Right now AP's & Moon light magic events are cancelled so Blue card and White card members are equal, except for maybe Rivera bookings.

Who knows if any of those are ever coming back. If Disney can fill the parks why should they re-introduce the AP's? they make more money on the regular tickets.

I'd recommend not doing it.

 

[jarestel]

I guess it would depend on what your goals are. Obviously, if the bottom line is the be all and end all for every financial decision you are faced with, it's not a good idea since this won't achieve your goal of saving the most amount of money. OTOH, if cost is simply another factor in a list of things to consider it might make sense for the long run where you know you are permanently on DVC's A-List for future benefits and perks.

I know the prevailing advice on the boards tends to favor the bottom line approach but many of the same folks preaching this gospel also tend to spend a lot of time railing against resale restrictions and membership classes. Bottom line, it's your money and you should buy what you want as long as you can afford it. Good luck!